Car rental tycoon's road to £50m

A MAN who started a car rental company with just a few thousand pounds is poised to pocket up to £50m from its sale. Clive Jacobs is chairman and chief executive of Holiday Autos, which specialises in car rental for holidaymakers driving abroad. He owns just over half of the business, which has been valued at £100m.

A float or a sale was put on ice earlier this year because of deteriorating economic conditions, but now it finally looks like happening. Holiday Autos has hired former Thomas Cook boss John Donaldson as non-executive deputy chairman to impress potential investors.

But the road has not always been smooth for Jacobs. Born in 1961 to a working-class family in London, he left school at 16 and spent six years scratching a living in a variety of jobs, including working on building sites and delivering fitted kitchens.

His entrepreneurial skills came to light after a stint in a travel agency. Deciding he could do the job better himself, he opened a 'bucket shop' selling plane tickets in 1983. But after four years of struggle he closed the business and ended up back at square one.

Then Jacobs and a couple of friends hit on the idea of selling car rental and raised a few thousand pounds to start a new business. Within a year, Holiday Autos had raced to a £1m turnover - and now it has claims to being the world's biggest car rental broker. It operates in 38 countries and this year expects to notch up £200m sales worldwide.

Holiday Autos pulled out of the American market shortly before September 11, selling the business there to Airtours for an undisclosed sum, and a float or a sale is the logical next step.

ECI Ventures, which owns 27% of Holiday Autos, has been involved with the company for more than six years. It is thought to be keen to capitalise on its investment and Donaldson is seen as the man to help achieve that.

He is chairman of Accoladia, the joint venture between British Airways Holidays and Thomas Cook Holidays, and ran the travel and financial services division of Thomas Cook. Jacobs would not talk about the possibility of Holiday Autos being sold, other than that the company would be 'assessing opportunities'.

He said of Donaldson's appointment-This is about strengthening our board because we have gone through a period of enormous growth. 'John Donaldson's experience and expertise will be invaluable in expanding the company.'

Jacobs is a devoted family man. He and his wife Suzanne have a ninemonthold daughter, Martha. He enjoys shooting and racing sports cars. And if he does sell Holiday Autos, he'll have plenty of time and money to indulge both passions.